A Maniac, A Miracle And A Mission

Mark 5:1-6, 17-20

A MANIAC, A MIRACLE AND A MISSION

H Lee Clay

The wealthiest spot on this planet is not the oil fields of Kuwait, Nigeria, Iraq or Saudi Arabia. Neither is it the gold and diamond mines of South Africa, the uranium mines of the Soviet Union or the silver mines of Africa. Though it may surprise you, the richest deposits on our planet lie just a few blocks from your house.

They rest in your local cemetery or graveyard. Buried beneath the soil within the walls of those sacred grounds are dreams that never came to pass, songs that were never sung, books that were never written, paintings that never filled a canvas, ideas that were never shared, visions that never became reality, inventions that were never designed, plans that never went beyond the drawing board of the mind and purposes that were never fulfilled. Our graveyards are filled, with potential that remained potential. This is a tragedy.

As I walk the streets of our cities, my heart frequently weeps as I encounter and observe the wasted, broken and disoriented lives of individuals who, years before, were talented, intelligent aspiring high-school classmates. During their youth they had dreams, desires, plans and aspirations.

Today they are lost in a maze of substance abuse, alcoholism, purposelessness and poorly chosen friends. Their lives are aimless and many of their decisions haphazard. This enormous tragedy saddens me. What could have been has become what should have been. The wealth of dreams has been dashed by the poverty of discouragement.

THE MEAN STREETS OF THIS WORLD CAN BE LIKENED TO A GRAVEYARD BECAUSE THERE RESIDES IN THIS WORLD A WHOLE LOT OF DEAD FOLKS THAT WALK!

And that brings me to the text:

This brother that we find in our text was very much like any other brother/sister that we may encounter in our time. But something happened in his life that brought separation, of his mind., body and soul.

Maybe he was married and had a family. He could have been abused as a child and now the demons of his past have come back and tormented his soul. Whatever his trauma was, life has become too much to deal with.

Now he’s at a point where he can no longer deal with life on life’s terms. He’s picked up a bag of P-Dope, or cocaine. A 40 ounce bottle of Colt 45 Malt Liquor or Old English and he does not want to be around anything normal. He let’s his pant’s fall well below his waist and his self respect has fallen beyond his ability to feel good about himself. He has abandoned his family and his life is now a mess! But thank God Almighty that Jesus shows up by crossing over to the other side. He left one storm that He calmed that was external in chapter 4 to deal with a human storm that internal in chapter 5.

The grace of God has a way of showing up even in the madness of our situations. (Elaborate)

THERE ARE 3 PLACES OR STATES IN WHICH WE SEE THIS BROTHER IN OUR

TEXT; WE SEE HIM:

First : The Maniac.

We see him CHAINED, CRYING, & CUTTING HIMSELF WITH STONES. Vs. 5-6

This is a profoundly pitiful picture of a devil-controlled life. He had often been bound with fetters and chains, but he had broken those chains, and no man, (no human agency ) could tame him. They called the authorities to deal with him but they could not stop him nor kelp him.The Social Service programs cannot do it} The Rehabs could not help him.The Criminal Justice System with its’ First-Time Intervention Program could not help him. This man’s problem was of a demonic source and I’ve stopped by to tell you that when you’ve got a bunch of demons all up inside of your head you’ll quickly learn that you cannot solve supernatural issues with natural approaches.

You would recognize him the moment that you saw him.

A. His hair was matted together.

B. His face was unshaven.

C. He was foaming arid frothing at the mouth.

D. Blood was flowing from self-inflicted wounds,

E. The clanging of chains could be heard as he dragged them, .

F. He doesn’t wear any clothes or live in a house but dwelled among the tombs.

G The stench of dried pus and soured vomit was unbearable.

H. He would come at you screaming and crying like a wild animal .

A) (v. 2) Unclean- Mark is not reporting only on the man’s "external" but his "internal situation“.

B) (v3.) Unsettled- Look at where he lives. He’s comfortable around dead people,

C) (v, 4) Uncontrollable- No one could calm him or reason with him.

D) (v, 5} Unhappy- He’s depressed, in despair, decadent and demoralized .